A fundraiser will be held Saturday for a Divernon woman who had a massive brain-stem stroke in February and is unemployed and uninsured.
The benefit for ASHLEY McCRADY, 27, will be held from noon to 11 p.m. on the Divernon Town Square. It will feature food, a silent auction, 50/50 raffle, grand prize, live music, washer and bags tournament, kids games and more.
Any amount raised will be appreciated, said TARA HERIFORD, McCradys sister.
We really havent set a goal. Were just appreciative that people are donating everything and are going to be showing up, Heriford said.
She was actually denied disability, which were fighting right now. Weve retained a lawyer because shes still wheelchair-bound.
Were just kind of appreciative to whatever money we can raise to start paying off these bills shes getting from the hospital.
McCrady has braved various medical conditions since age 6, when she was diagnosed with a brain-stem tumor, Astrocytoma. Treatment included radiation over six weeks to shrink the tumor, according to Herifords account in Ashleys Story. In six months, signs pointed to the shrinking of the tumor, and McCrady eventually went into remission, requiring once-a-year checkups.
A 2004 graduate of Divernon High School, McCrady received a suspicious-looking MRI at a checkup that year. A biopsy showed the brain-stem tumor was growing. Because surgery for removal was risky due to the tumors location, she underwent chemotherapy to stop its growth.
In 2007, McCrady earned a bachelors degree in graphic arts from Robert Morris College.
This year, her health took another turn for the worse.
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Benefit Saturday for Divernon woman recovering from stroke